Two Major COVID-19 Outbreak Areas Identified in Malaysia
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Reports have emerged that a variant virus with 10 times the transmissibility of the existing novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been discovered in Malaysia.
On the 16th (local time), according to local Malaysian media such as the daily The Star, Noor Hisham Abdullah, Director-General of Health Malaysia, announced that four cases of COVID-19 virus mutations were found in two COVID-19 hotspot areas, including Sibangga.
The research team at the Malaysian Institute of Medical Research that discovered the mutations named the virus 'D614G.' This virus was first detected last month in individuals arriving from India and the Philippines, and further testing is currently underway.
Director-General Abdullah explained, "The variant is about 10 times more transmissible than the virus discovered in Wuhan, China, so it can be easily spread by super-spreaders," adding, "The variant may cause existing vaccine research to become incomplete or ineffective."
This is not the first time a COVID-19 virus mutation with presumed higher transmissibility has been discovered. Last month, a study published in the life sciences journal Cell reported that the rapidly spreading variant 'G614' virus has almost replaced the virus called 'D614' in Europe and the United States.
At that time, the multinational research team claimed in the paper that this variant virus replicates faster in the nasal cavity, throat, and pharynx, increasing the transmission speed by 3 to 9 times compared to the original.
However, a subsequent analysis of 1,000 COVID-19 hospitalized patients in the United Kingdom showed that infection with the variant virus did not result in more severe conditions.
Meanwhile, Malaysia has recorded a cumulative total of 9,200 COVID-19 confirmed cases as of the 16th. The number of new confirmed cases on that day was 25.
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